We’re well and truly into the thick of awards season at this point, as Hollywood (and, tomorrow, the U.K., courtesy of the BAFTAs) starts hurling statuary at itself with increasing and salutary force. Tomorrow night, we’ll be ticking off the winners of the Critics Choice Awards, but tonight, it’s all about the people in the fancy canvas chairs, as the Directors Guild Of America got together to hand out its annual awards, with Judd Apatow there to serve as host.
While tonight’s DGAs covered both television and film, these particular awards are often most notable as a bellwether for the Oscars proper. Since 1950, the DGAs have picked the eventual Best Director winner almost unerringly, with only seven exceptions—including Francis Ford Coppola for The Godfather, Ron Howard for Apollo 13, Ben Affleck for Argo, and, most recently, Sam Mendes for 1917—winning at the DGAs without taking home the Oscar a few weeks later. (Not wholly surprising, since both voting groups are made up of a fairly similar mix of folks.)
This year’s nominees, for instance, were an almost 1 for 1 match-up between Outstanding Achievement In Feature Film at the DGAs and the Best Directing Oscar; the only switch-up was that Denis Villeneuve was up for Dune at the DGAs, while Ryusuke Hamaguchi secured the slot at the Oscars for Drive My Car. In the end, though, it was Jane Campion, who’s been the odds-on favorite for a while now, who won for her Western The Power Of The Dog. (She also won our unofficial “sickest burn” award for her treatment of critic Sam Elliott.)
Over in Documentary directing, meanwhile, Stanley Nelson Jr. won for Attica, while the First-Time Director award went to Maggie Gyllenhaal for her film The Lost Daughter.
In the world of TV, on the other hand, Succession managed to eke out a win over Succession, Succession, Succession, and Succession, as third-season finale “All The Bells Say” beat out…four other episodes of Succession. Comedy was at least a little more diverse (only three Ted Lassos!), with Hacks taking the win.
Rounding out tonight’s festivities: A win for Barry Jenkins (The Underground Railroad) in Limited Series Directing, another for Don Roy King and Saturday Night Live, and Paul Dugdale and Adele: One Night Only, in Variety Series and Variety Special, respectively, and wins for Adam Vetri (Getaway Driver), Smriti Mundhra (Through Our Eyes), and Bradford Young for Reality Series Directing, Children’s Programming, and Commercials.